This invention relates generally to a stopwatch of the analog type and more particularly, to an analog display stopwatch which consumes little energy. Recently, an analog display stopwatch having a quartz crystal oscillator as a time standard source and a plurality of step motors for driving hands to indicate elapsed time has been developed in place of a conventional entirely mechanical stopwatch. However, as is generally known, a step motor, even if only one step motor is used, requires a high level of electrical power input for driving. Therefore, to drive a plurality of step motors, a battery having a large capacity, that is, a battery of large size, is necessary. Therefore, it has not been possible to provide an analog display stopwatch in such a small size as a wristwatch, or the like. Further, a rapid decline in output voltage of the battery when the battery is near depletion presents a problem in alerting the user of impending battery failure.
What is needed is an analog display stopwatch operating on an electrical battery which has long operating life through low power consumption and provides indication of imminent battery depletion.